Kern County and Bakersfield City fire crews have been working together to extinguish a warehouse fire near E Brundage Lane and Industrial Street that started on Wednesday.
- A massive warehouse fire on E Brundage Lane in Bakersfield has been burning for several hours.
- The fire, caused by plastic recycling materials, started around noon and may take over a day to extinguish.
- Fire crews face challenges due to distance from water sources, using hundreds of hose extensions.
- Road closures are in effect to prevent interference with fire-fighting efforts and manage traffic.
- A similar fire occurred in the same location last November, indicating a recurring issue in the area.
For your convenience, the skimmable summary above is generated with the assistance of AI and fact checked by our team prior to publication. Read the full story as originally reported below.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Kern County and Bakersfield City fire crews have been working for hours to extinguish a warehouse fire near E Brundage Lane and Industrial Street, which may take more than a day to fully extinguish.
According to Jon Drucker with KCFD, the fire started around noon on Wednesday. He says the large warehouse that caught fire was full of plastic, causing a black column of smoke to be visible throughout the area.
As crews attempted to extinguish the fire, Drucker says they have been running into a couple of challenges.
"The closest fire hydrants are about 800 feet away from where we need the water and so we've laid full beds—we call them hose beds on our fire engines—we've laid full beds of those on the ground," said Drucker.
As a result, he says crews had to use hundreds of hose extensions, to get the water to the fire. To prevent any interference with the equipment lying around surrounding roads, those roads have been temporarily closed resulting in traffic.
Drucker says another challenge for the crews was the wind that was putting other neighboring structures at risk.
"They're actually spreading water to a building that is not yet on fire to cool the sides of it and prevent the main fire from spreading to nearby structures," said Drucker.
However, this area is no stranger to a large warehouse fire. Another one in this same compound took place back in November and sent a large black cloud of smoke into the air.
Though that fire is still under investigation, back in November, KCFD's Investigation Unit announced they were seeking to identify two individuals who might have been associated with starting the fire.
As for what caused Wednesday's fire, Drucker says that is still unknown.
Drucker says crews will continue to work on the fire, but says it could be a while until it is fully extinguished. Therefore he says, it is very likely that the da rk plume of smoke will continue to be visible throughout the night and into tomorrow.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
